Unfinished Business Part 7
Edited By Don (thanks Honey)

Ingrid parked her Mercedes SUV in a spot, thankfully close to the Church. She stepped out of the truck, her Christian Louboutin round toe pump clacking on the blacktop, into a bright, warm, June afternoon. She reached back into the truck to grab her bag and the red wrapped package sitting on her passenger seat. She was dressed in a Black Giambattista Valli Rope Detail Sheath Dress. Its super form hugging design was set off perfectly by the rope tie details around the collar. She looked every big the high fashion model as she strutted across the parking lot. Ingrid took a last drag from her cigarette, then dropped it and ground it under the toe of her shoe. She exhaled and looked up at the small crowd gathering before the doors. She put a smile on her face and started towards them.

Ingrid felt a pang of jealously for the girls. They were graduating from high school today, something she would never get to do. Her best friend Emily was among them and she was determined to make this day the best it could be for her. Several of the girls looked in her direction. Some gave her little smiles, others had a look tinged with what she now knew was jealously. She just widened her smile and kept walking.

Ingrid stepped into the church and took off her sunglasses. Tucking them into her purse, she marched up the center aisle, her heels clacking loudly on the stones. Sacred Heart cathedral was very old and beautiful. As Ingrid took a seat, she saw the knot of girls that had been outside skirt their way up to join the rest of their class just in time to be seated. Ingrid was disappointed she didn’t get to see Emily before the ceremony.

The Graduation ceremony commenced with all the pomp and circumstance expected. Emily looked gorgeous, and extremely happy as she crossed the stage to get her diploma. Ingrid had to dab tears from her eyes as she watched. As soon as the ceremony was over, Ingrid got up and went outside.

She walked off to the side in a small garden and sat on a bench. She knew it would be a little while before Emily got outside and the day was far too nice to stay inside. Ingrid felt uneasy inside. Not because of anything she could quantify, at least not at first. She lit a cigarette and leaned back letting the sun shine on her face. As she was putting her Givenchy lighter back in her purse it dawned on her why she felt so uneasy. She was jealous. The slight feeling of jealousy she had felt before had grown as she watched the ceremony. As she watched the joyous girls run into the loving arms of their parents after they had cheered with their friends. Tears were now threatening, like storm clouds. Luckily a familiar voice broke her from her dark thoughts.

“Ingrid!!” Emily yelled. Ingrid barely had time to get on her feet before Emily had plowed into her arms. Ingrid hugged her tightly. The tears of despair Ingrid was about to spill turned into tears of joy as she embraced her best friend.

“Emily. I am so happy for you.” Ingrid said, barely able to get the words out. “So Proud. Salutatorian! Fucking awesome.”

Emily looked at Ingrid, her eyes wet with tears, then gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Ingrid took off her sunglasses and dabbed at her eyes, then chuckled. “Look at me. I’m crying like a little girl.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Emm said, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her robe. Just then, Emily’s parents exited the church. Ingrid noticed them and realized it was too late to do anything about her cigarette without it being completely obvious and, frankly, silly.

Dr. Martin Vandiveer and his wife Amanda were all smiles. Emily was their youngest daughter and this was a very proud day for them. Emily stepped back and Ingrid could see them clearly now. Apparently, they saw her as well. She felt quite strange standing here in front of them like this. Despite hanging out with Emily all the time for the last two years, Ingrid had managed to avoid seeing them in person. Ingrid swallowed, then tried to put on a smile. Emily, who was grinning ear to ear was completely oblivious to the bit of drama unfolding next to her. Ingrid hadn’t seen the Emm’s parents since she was a little boy. She didn’t know how much they knew about her, but from the change in their body language, they knew enough. And they didn’t seem to approve.

“Mom, Dad. This is Ingrid. You remember my Mom and Dad, right?” Emily said, still smiling ear to ear. Yes, Ingrid thought. They know.
“Hello, Dr. And Mrs. Vandiveer. So very nice to see you again.” Ingrid said, extending a hand. Amanda hesitated for a moment, then smiled and took her hand. Afterwards, Martin did the same.

“Hello Ingrid. You are looking quite. Frankly, surprising.” Amanda said, trying hard to find the words. “lovely, I mean. It’s quite a shock.” She added, floundering.

“Yes.” Dr. Vandiveer said. “And I see you have picked up the same nasty habit as our daughter.” His eyes went to the cigarette perched daintily in Ingrid’s fingers.

“Oh.” Ingrid said, unable to stop from blushing, she could also feel her face warming with anger at the comment Amanda vandiveer had made about her appearance. She dropped the cigarette and put it out under her shoe. “sorry.” Ingrid said quietly.

“Umm.” Emily said, sensing for the first time the unease her parents had at seeing Ingrid for the first time. They remembered her as a little boy and it was quite a shock seeing her as a woman. “Can I talk to Ingrid alone for a second?”

“Good to meet you, Ingrid.” Dr. Vandiveer said, then led his wife back towards the parking lot.

“I’m sorry.” Emily said, barely above a whisper. “They...are not coming to terms with it well.”

Ingrid nodded. “It’s Ok, darling. They aren’t the first and they won’t be the last.” She said, conjuring a smile in spite of how she actually felt. “Anyway. I have a gift for you.” She turned and picked up the shiny red package from the bench and handed it to Emily. “Happy Graduation, Sweety.”

Emily looked at the package then up to Ingrid. She sat down on the bench and tore into the shiny wrapping. Emily looked up at Ingrid with a huge smile on her face when she saw what was in the box. “No way.”

Ingrid just beamed at her and nodded.

Emily jumped up and hugged Ingrid. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” She looked back at the package. “it’s exactly what I wanted!”

“I know.” Ingrid said. “you told me last month when we were at the mall remember. We walked in the Apple store and you salivated over the Macbook Pro. It looked like you wanted to make love to it.” Ingrid grinned. “You deserve it.”

Emily stopped. It dawned on her what an expensive gift this was. “Wait. I can’t take this. It’s too expensive. I...”

“Stop, baby. Look. It’s a present. Accept it.” Ingrid said, then pulled Emily into a hug.

Emily sighed, then hugged Ingrid tighter. “Thank you.” She broke the hug and looked at her. “You’re coming to the party tonight, right?” Emily said wiping a tear from her eye.

Ingrid nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

Emily beamed at her. “I can’t believe I finally graduated.” She shook her head. “Ok. Eight o’clock. My house. Be there or be square.” She made a little square in the air, just like Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction, then grinned hugely at Ingrid. And with that, she scooped up her package and rushed to meet her parents.

Ingrid watched as the Vandiveers got into their car then picked up her purse and got ready to leave. Sheila walked out of the church, followed closely by Brittany. She looked right at Ingrid and waved. With a slight sigh, Ingrid walked over to talk to them, immediately putting on a big smile.

“Hello, Sheila. Brittany. Congratulations.” Ingrid said, trying to be gracious, even though it still ate her up inside that Sheila was dating Brad.

“Hi Ingrid. Thank you so much.” Sheila said. “Oh, I saw your ad yesterday! That’s so cool!”

Ingrid looked stunned for a second. “Ad?” She said, not sure which ad Sheila was talking about.

“Oh, yeah. The one on the billboard off the beltway. Gaultier. It looks awesome!”

It finally clicked with Ingrid what she was talking about. It was the first big name designer campaign she’d done since going over to Elite. She was modeling a Gaultier Printed cone-top dress with a lovely purple flower pattern. The dress had a sort of old fashioned little house on the prairie look to it, but with a Gaultier twist. She’d been standing in front of a wind machines out in a grassy field, dress and hair streaming behind her. Coupled with a pair of distressed brown cowboy boots, the effect had been very nice. She’d actually gotten a call from Mr. Gaultier saying how happy he’d been with the whole shoot.

“Danke. I mean, thank you, Sheila. You are the first person to recognize me...Outside of my family anyway.” Ingrid said, fighting back a blush.

Sheila looked pleased as punch. “Brad and I saw it yesterday when we were going into the city. He almost wrecked when I pointed it out to him. He’s so silly, he kept arguing it wasn’t you. But I knew.”

Ingrid paused for a moment. “How is Bradley? He graduated yesterday, did he not?”

“Yeah. We went and had dinner last night after his graduation. It was really cool. Oh, are you coming to the party tonight?” Sheila said.

“Yes. Emily invited me. Thank you for being so kind. Since I had tutors for school, I didn’t get a real graduation.” Ingrid said, feeling a pang of sadness.

“Yeah, but you get to be a model. I’d trade with you in a heartbeat.” Sheila gushed.

Ingrid wondered if she would really want her life then shook off the thought.
“Well, I must get going. It was very nice seeing you all. Congratulations.” Ingrid said, then quickly extricated herself from the situation. It felt like she was holding her breath all the way to her truck.

She drove out of the parking lot. Ingrid wasn’t exactly sure what she was feeling, whether she was happy or sad. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and could do little to stop them from cascading over her eyelashes. Her emotions had been totally screwed up for the last month. Since the night she’d spoken with Red, there had been a few changes. Since she was going to be modeling now, professionally, and it didn’t matter if she couldn’t pass for a boy in the future, she had gone to her doctor and gotten the doses of hormones increased up to the level he’d initially suggested. The changes were dramatic. The low doses she’d been taking were almost a placeholder. They’d caused a very small amount of breast development, putting her firmly in an A cup, and had done wonders for her complexion. The higher dose had sent her body fully into puberty. In one month she’d grown almost a full cup size. The noticed that her thighs had thickened a little and the weight, which had already naturally done some redistribution had started rearranging her body with a vengeance. Her figure was finally filling out, which made her very happy. Unfortunately, it had thrown her emotions into a tailspin. Things she would have just shrugged off before now set her off in a crying jag. Eventually she would get it under control but right now, it was like a runaway train.

Ingrid pulled over into a parking lot and let the tears come. She cried harder than she ever had, sobbing into her elbow. It seemed that the tears would never stop as the emotions just kept building. Everything hit her at once. The way her life, Richard’s life, had been destroyed in that hotel in Berlin. The way her parents had been slaughtered in front of her. Her childhood stolen. The fact that she missed out on graduation. Gone were the happy days of high school Richard had once looked forward to. The unfairness of it all, despite the fantastic luck she was having as Ingrid, crashed down on her at once and she crashed.

Finally, unable to cry any more, out of tears, she was able to bring herself somewhat under control. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, then lit a cigarette and laid her head back against the seat. The nicotine calmed her nerves a little, but she was still an absolute wreck. She worked up the courage to look in the mirror and actually laughed at what she saw. Her eyes were puffy, her cheeks stained with tears and mascara. Huge raccoon eyes staring back at her. So, she put on her sunglasses, started the truck and headed back to her house.

Things seemed better after a bath. She soaked for a long time, letting the lavender scented water and jacuzzi jets soothe away her troubles. The glass of single malt she poured for herself helped, as well as the three cigarettes she smoked while she soaked, but she chalked it all up to the bath anyway.

After drying off, she laid down on the bed and took a short nap. The day had done a number on her and she needed a rest. The last few months had been non-stop for her, between studying and work. She needed a short respite from it all.

Ingrid woke to her phone alarm at five-o’clock. Luckily, she’d had the foresight to set it before falling asleep or she would have easily slept right through the party. Ingrid got up and sleepily wandered into the bathroom. after taking care of her bladder, she sat down at the vanity and started on her hair. She brushed it out then started styling. She used her curling iron to put some wave in it, but left it long and flowing. For make-up, she went for a simple, minimalistic approach. A mineral powder base, eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. It accentuated her youthfulness, and her natural good looks perfectly as well as being a very “in” look right now.

She got up and changed her undergarments, changing into a pair of white Victoria’s Secret boy shorts, and a white VS Angel strapless push up bra. Undergarments in place, she put on the Gaultier print dress she’d worn in the ad. Her absolute favorite fringe benefit of being a model was that after the shoot she got to keep most of the clothes she wore. After twirling in front of the mirror for a minute, she walked back into the bedroom to find a pair of socks to wear with her cowboy boots. Minutes later, she was fully dressed.

Picking through the jewelry box, she grabbed her Rolex and silver tennis bracelet. A pair of Tiffany chandelier ear rings in her ears, and now to find a necklace, she thought. The choice was actually fairly easy. She put on the silver chain with half a heart that Emily had given her. It was her best friends forever necklace and even though it had come from Claire’s boutique, it was Ingrid’s favorite piece of jewelry.

With still two hours before the party, Ingrid decided to paint her fingernails while she waited. A coat of funky purple nail polish, to match the purple in her dress worked out just perfectly. By the time she was finished with her nails, well twenty minutes of nail polishing followed by forty minutes of smoking cigarettes and reading a magazine, it was one hour until the party.

Ingrid headed down stairs. She loaded up her purse and headed out, running through a drive through on the way. She picked up a chef’s salad, which she ate in the restaurant parking lot before heading off to the party. Just as she got on the highway, her phone rang. Uncle Fred.

“Hello.” She said sweetly.

“Hey, Honey.” Fred said. “Are you heading to that graduation party?”

“Yes sir, I am. What’s up?” Ingrid said.

“Oh, nothing. I was just checking on you. What time you going to be home?” He said.

“I should be in by two...If that’s ok?” Ingrid said.

Fred hesitated for a moment. “Ok. Two o’clock. No later.”

“Gotcha. No Later than Two.” Ingrid said. “Love you Uncle Fred.”

“Love you too. Be careful.” Fred said. “Bye.”

“Bye.” She hung up and dropped the phone in her bag.

Ingrid pulled up to Becky Tisdale’s house at Eight fifteen. There were already tons of cars parked up and down the street. This was going to be a raging party, Ingrid thought as she gathered up her stuff. Becky’s house was huge, far larger than Ingrid’s, an estate really. Her parents were old money, well older than the Wolfe’s. Political money. Nuff said. Ingrid, well, Richard, had known Becky since she was a kid. They had never attended the same school since Richard went to an all boys school and she an all girls, but the schools had always combined for events. As Ingrid, she had never met Becky so she’d have to remember that when they were talking. The only reason Ingrid was invited was because of Emm.

Ingrid got out of the car and walked up to the house. The front door was open and people were already milling around. Ingrid immediately noticed the red plastic cups in everyone’s hands and surmised that this party wasn’t chaperoned. Once inside, that thought was immediately confirmed. It was a madhouse. Music was blaring, kids were dancing and acting crazy.

Several people smiled at Ingrid as she walked through the house, boys and girls. She also got some catty looks from girls that she had come to expect, as well as some lascivious looks from boys that she had likewise become well acquainted with. She made her way through a huge dining room to the bar. A big teenager named Walt, who had played football at Wentworth, was manning the keg.

“Can I get one of those?” She asked, exaggerating her accent a bit and pointing to an empty cup.

“Sure.” He said, smiling at her. “Coming up.” He poured her off a beer and handed it to her.

“Danke.” She said, smiling at him. “I mean, thank you.”

“No problem.” He said. “I’ve never met you. I’m Walt.” He said, holding out a hand.

Yes you have, she thought. You tormented me for years. “Ingrid.” She said, taking his hand. “Please to meet you.”
“You don’t go to Sacred Heart.” he said.

“No. I don’t. Thank you for the beer, Walt.” She said, then turned and walked away with a smile.

She made her way through the house, checking out the scene. Several people said hello, but no one she really knew was here yet. Ingrid noticed that several people were smoking in the house, which was probably a bad idea and would get Becky into even more trouble, so Ingrid decided to find a place to sit and have a cigarette. She wandered through several rooms looking for a place she could chill for a bit. The study turned out to be just the place. It was a cozy room with a large fireplace and leather furniture. She sat down on the huge brown, leather couch and put her feet up on the coffee table.

She had just lit her cigarette when a guy walked into the room. He seemed to be looking for someone so he popped in and looked around, not seeing them, he started to leave then stopped. He noticed Ingrid sitting there.

“Hey...I didn’t see you at first.” he walked over towards her. “I’m Lawrence. Lawrence Fincher.”

Ingrid froze for a moment, a cold chill ran down her spine. Lawrence Fincher. She steeled herself, then looked in up at him. Lawrence was one of the boys who had attacked Richard in the locker room at school a few years ago. Ingrid couldn’t help but smile when she noticed his nose, which she had broken, had never quite healed back properly and was now sort of crooked.

“Hello.” Ingrid said coolly, then took a long drag from her cigarette.

Lawrence stood there for a second, unsure how to proceed. He was apparently, in Ingrid’s estimation, used to girls gushing at him when he introduced himself. He was definitely not going to get that reaction from her.

“Are you waiting on someone?” He asked, not sure how to deal with the icy German girl.

Ingrid shook her head no then took a sip from her beer.

“Oh.” he said uncomfortably. “Ummm...Ok. Do you go to Sacred Heart. I mean, did you?”

Ingrid just shook her head again. She kept her eyes locked on his while she took a long drag from her cigarette.

“Oh. Well. Alright. See ya.” he said, then left the room. Ingrid thought she heard him mutter “dyke.” under his breath. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.

Ingrid eventually headed back into the dining room to get a refill on beer. Her timing was good because as she was walking in, Emily and Mark were at the keg. Emm didn’t see her, so she snuck up behind her and blew in her ear. Emily spun, a surprised look on her face, which quickly turned into a grin when she saw Ingrid. The two girls embraced.

“Hi Mark.” Ingrid said. “Congratulations on graduating.”

“Thank you, Ingrid. Oh, and Congrats on your new gig. That’s really fuckin’ cool.” he said, accepting a hug from her.

Ingrid laughed. “Thanks. I’m thinking so too...Fuckin’ cool.” she said.

The three of them hung out for a while, dancing and drinking. Enjoying one another’s company. It got Ingrid’s mind off things and started to pull her out of the horrible mood she’d been in all day long. The three of them wandered out into the back yard and sat down at a picnic table under a white gazebo.

“So...” Emily said, then paused to light her cigarette. “What are your plans for the summer, Ingrid?”

Ingrid paused for a second before responding. “Well...I have some more classes to finish. I have to get done by July. By my birthday. My manager wants me in New York the week after my birthday and it looks like I’m going to be busy all the way through Fashion Week at least. Aunt Janet has started the paperwork so I can become emancipated and live there alone. That was such a nightmare to get her to put together for me.” Ingrid drained the rest of her beer and sighed. “How ‘bout you?”

Emm looked at Ingrid’s empty cup, then finished what was left in hers. “Mark, hon. Could you get us some refills?” She batted her eyelashes at him in exaggerated sweetness.

Mark laughed, then picked up the cups. “How can I resist.” He said then headed into the house.

“I was wanting to talk to you about that.” Emily said, leaning in conspiratorially. “I want to come up to New York with you...Just for a couple of weeks. Please!!!”

Ingrid laughed. “I was hoping you would! Shit, I thought you were going to drop a bomb on me like you were marrying Mark or something.”

Emily hooted with laughter. “No, girl. I just wanted to ask you while we were alone then break it to him later.” She shook her head and laughed again. “Me marry Mark. Hilarious!”

Mark came back with beers and the three of them sat around talking, laughing and drinking for the next hour without any interruption. Then, like a bad penny, Brad walked out onto the deck. Ingrid noticed him first. Her blood froze. He stood in the doorway, the porch lights bathing him in a golden glow. Ingrid still, even after seven months, couldn’t keep her knees from getting weak when she saw him.

Brad looked over and saw the three of them under the gazebo. He smiled and walked over. “Hey, y’all.” He said, shaking Mark’s hand. He turned to Emily and gave her a hug, then looked at Ingrid. He looked torn. Ingrid stood up and hugged him, pulling him in a little tighter than she intended. The hug lasted longer than either of them wanted, or wanted to admit they wanted.

Sheila stepped out onto the porch. She wobbled a little, obviously she’d had a few too many already, then rushed over into Brad’s arms. “I can’t believe it. We actually made it!!!” she yelled, then gave Emily a hug. Before Ingrid could stop her, she was caught up in her rogue embrace as well. “I love you guys.” Sheila said, her words horribly slurred.

“You better sit down, baby.” Brad said, guiding her to take a seat. Ingrid felt terribly uncomfortable, sitting at a table with Brad and his girlfriend, when all she really wanted to do was rip his clothes off right there on the picnic table. She drained the last of her beer, then looked into the glass.

“I...I need to refill my glass.” She said then started to turn towards the door.

“I’ll get it.” Brad said, starting to stand up.

Ingrid put her hand on his shoulder. “No, thank you hon. You must tend to your girlfriend.” She tried to put on a warm smile, but it was cold as ice. “I have it.”

“Want me to come?” Emily said, raising an eyebrow.

Ingrid shook her head. “I’m big girl. I can handle it.” She said, with a wink.

Ingrid walked back into the chaos of the party. Kids were dancing, and generally going insane. She walked back up to the keg where Walt was still on duty.

“Hello again, Mr. Walt.” Ingrid said, handing him her cup. “Bier Bitte.” She said, smiling.

Walt chuckled, then expertly filled her cup. “Dance with me.” He said, holding her cup out to her.

Ingrid looked at him for a second. He is kind of cute, she thought. “One dance.” she said. He grinned at her, then grabbed another guy by the shirt and pulled him over.

“You’re on the keg till I get back.” he said, then guided Ingrid out on the dance floor. Much to her chagrin, a slow song came on just as they got there. “Good timing.” he said, smiling down at her.
“Ya. Great.” Ingrid said, then stepped into his embrace. He was big, far bigger than Brad or Thomas, though not nearly as tall as the latter.

“So, are you still in school, or did you graduate?” Walt said, leaning in close enough for her to feel his breath on her ear.

“I am Freshman at Georgetown.” she said, looking up at him.

“Really. I’m dancing with an older woman.” he said, grinning ear to ear.

If you only knew, Ingrid thought, which brought a smile to her face.

“Ah, a couger, I see.” he said with a chuckle.

Ingrid shook her head. “No. I’m same age as you. I graduated early from secondary school.”

He nodded. “A brain, then. I heard a rumor that you are a model. Is that true?”

Ingrid felt herself blush a little. “Yes. I am.” It felt good to tell the truth about something.

“Cool.” He said. “that must be awesome.”

Ingrid thought about it for a second. “It is...Awesome.”

Thankfully, the song ended. Walt pleaded for another dance, but INgrid reminded him of her one dance agreement. They walked back over to the keg where he dutifully gave her back her beer.

“Danke.” She said, taking a sip. Ingrid pulled out a cigarette, then dug through her purse for her lighter. “Shitze.”

A flame clicked on near her. She turned to see Brad standing there holding out his lighter. Ingrid steadied his hand with hers, then leaned in and lit her cigarette. “Thank you Bradley.” she said, then exhaled.

Brad looked at her for a second. Their eyes locked and she knew for sure that he still felt the same way about her that she felt about him. It hurt almost too much to bear. Not thinking about it, running on instinct, she took him by the hand and led him into the study.

“Ingrid, I don’t thin...” he started. She shut him up by kissing him on the lips. It was a simple kiss, but quickly turned passionate. She was swept into his arms. It seemed like an eternity, but it was only a few seconds. Ingrid pulled away then whispered in his ear. “I couldn’t help myself. Goodbye, Bradley.” she said, then kissed him on the cheek and started out of the room. She didn’t glance back, because she knew she would run back to him. He didn’t follow, but just stood there in stunned silence.

Ingrid walked out the front door, dropping her cup in the bushes. She strode down the driveway and to her truck. Once inside, the surge of emotion finally erupted in tears. After a couple of minutes, she started the truck and pulled out. As she passed the house, she saw Bradley step out onto the front porch.

She stopped in front of her Aunt and Uncle’s house. Her tears had subsided, so she dried her eyes and fixed her make-up. She didn’t want to let on that she’d had anything but a good time. Ingrid lit a cigarette, then pulled out her phone. She sent a quick text to Emily telling her she had to leave and she’d tell her about it tomorrow.
When she finished her cigarette, she popped a piece of gum in her mouth and headed inside to face the music. Hopefully the song wouldn’t suck.

Three Years Later
Saturday, Dec 21st, 2013

Ingrid sat on the edge of her bed and stretched. She looked around her apartment at the general state of disarray her bedroom had fallen into and sighed. She stood up and padded across the hardwood to her bathroom to take care of her morning requirements.

Ingrid was proud of her apartment. She had every right to be proud actually, since she was responsible for its very existence. After working out her emancipation on her 17th birthday, Ingrid has studied all the investments that now were her responsibility. One of them had been an empty warehouse space in SOHO, in New York. The space had been purchased by her father to be used once he got back from Germany. He’d planned on using it to set up Ingrid’s mother’s business, Catwalk. It was supposed to be a surprise. Ingrid checked out the building and found that it was commercial/residential. It cost a pretty penny to fix up, but the results were worth it. Ingrid divided the two story building into one huge apartment upstairs, with a small portion of the downstairs turned into a two car garage. She had the bottom floor subdivided into three large studio apartments and had a hot tub installed on the roof.

After finishing her freshman year at Georgetown, she’d wanted to move to New York full time, since her modeling career was going so well and she was spending way too much time traveling back and forth. So, she transferred to NYU to continue her studies in the city. Ingrid loved and hated New York, like most people who live there, but she loved her little part of it.

The bathroom was huge, almost as large as the bedroom in her house in Arlington. Her closet was massive, a room unto itself, with an attached salon. When she finished with the toilet she stopped to look at herself in the mirror.

She shook her head and smiled. Richard, where have you gone? She thought. Ingrid, not Richard smiled at her from the mirror. Ingrid had finished growing, topping out at 5’10” tall. She’d filled out, her measurements were now 34-24-34, which happened to be near perfect for a runway model. Her breasts had not come in past a large A cup, so she’d gotten implants bringing them up to a smallish C. She turned and admired her bottom for a second before turning back.

She jumped in the shower, tucking her hair into a shower cap because she didn’t feel like washing it this morning. she soaped herself up, glad she and Katrina had splurged and gotten laser hair removal done last year, it saved so much time. Not to mention the fact that with HD cameras, stubble showed up so fast. She ran her hands over the smooth skin where her scrotum used to be. She couldn’t help but look at it, even though she knew very well what it looked like. Smooth, soft skin, broken only by the jagged scar directly below her penis. She started washing her penis and felt it start to harden a little. She smiled and worked her cock a little with the soap. It had been a while since she’d masturbated in the shower, so it was sort of a novelty. She moaned softly as she stroked, feeling her cock hardem more in her hand. Ingrid had continued to masturbate since she’d been castrated, so her penis hadn’t suffered atrophy. Luckily, she thought, there wasn’t a whole lot there to begin with. She couldn’t maintain an erection very long, and had a very hard time climaxing from penile stimulation, but it still felt very, very good.

Ingrid’s Therapist had wondered why she didn’t want to get SRS. Ingrid felt like her penis was a link to her past, a past that had been taken away from her. She also couldn’t help but admit she found it erotic, and to her it was beautiful. The doctor had confirmed that a lot of transwomen don’t go any further than an Orchiectomy unless they just can’t bear to have the incongruity of their penis on their female body. It didn’t bother Ingrid one bit.

She masturbated for a little while, enjoying the sensation, but knew she wasn’t going to actually get any release that way alone. So, now wanting that orgasm, she opened the shower door, leaned out and opened the cupboard. She pulled out her dildo and popped back into the shower. She stuck the suction cup on the wall and lubed it up, then slowly pushed against it with her sphincter. The dildo popped inside a little bit, making her gasp. She moaned again and increased the speed of her masturbating as she started gyrating her hips against the dildo, sliding it in and out of her anus. It didn’t take long before she orgasmed. There was very little discharge, but the orgasm as usual was very intense. Sated, she finished washing then got out of the shower and dried off.

Ingrid grabbed a brush and started brushing out her long blonde hair. She’d had her hair bleached and dyed a year before for a campaign and it had been a huge hit. Something about her ivory coloring with the blonde hair set her looks off perfectly. She didn’t look like a Barbie, like some models who dye their hair, she looked like a valkyrie. It suited her so she’d kept it. It took she brushed her hair out then walked into her closet to get dressed. She put on a pair of boy shorts and a matching bra, then picked a pair of black Prada stretch pants, Christian Laboutin knee high boots with a three inch heel, and a black turtleneck sweater. Looking in the mirror, she decided to forgo make-up, since she would just be driving. Dressed she headed out to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

“Hey sleepyhead. I thought you were never going to come out.” Katrina said, smiling at her from the couch.

“Hey. I was beat.” Ingrid said, grinning. “Is that coffee I smell?”

“Yep. Fresh pot.” Katrina said cheerfully.

Katrina Patrick had been Ingrid’s roommate for the last two years. Katrina Patrick, of course, needs no introduction. She started out as a child star and parlayed it into a successful teen career before taking a break to go to college. Who hadn’t seen her hit TV show “Nerds”, right? It was like John Hughes movies for the 21st century. Katrina was the red-hot, red-head who used to be a nerd herself, but had blossomed. Classic show. Katrina had enrolled at NYU. She was hating it because, being famous, everyone wanted to “bag her” either as a friend or a lover. It was the same nightmare she’d experienced everywhere as a celebrity, not knowing who to trust.

Ingrid was enjoying a bit of fame, or maybe infamy, at that time as well. It had come out that she was a transexual. She still didn’t know who leaked it, but it was inevitable. Paparazzi were hounding her day and night. Leno was making jokes about her on the late night talk shows and she made David Letterman’s top ten list (number 1. Sexiest man...woman...well, damn just sexiest. She actually thought it was flattering, even though it did hurt her feelings a little.) Ingrid had then gone on several talk shows, including David Letterman and Leno, to talk about herself and her career. She’d done really well on all the talk shows, coming off as charming and gorgeous, just like she was in real life. She served as a guest judge on Rue Paul’s Drag Race, which had been one hell of a good time.

Ingrid met Katrina at a party hosted by Rue Paul. The two girls hit it off immediately. They became instant and fast friends. Katrina was renting a little place by herself. Despite her stardom, she wasn’t super rich and she was frugal. Ingrid had just finished the apartment and was living there alone, which she had to admit sort of scared her. It was a match made in heaven. So, Katrina moved in. The girls studied together, ate together and partied together. It was the closest Ingrid ever had to a sister, even more so than Emily because of the feeling of sexual attraction, and experimentation, they had initially shared which made the whole sister feeling very creepy. Best to stick with BFF for Emily.

Ingrid took a sip of her coffee then plopped down on the couch next to Katrina. “Well, I’m packed and ready to go...I think.” Ingrid said, shaking cigarette packs, on the coffee table looking for one that wasn’t empty. Katrina scooped one up and tossed it to her.

“You think?” Katrina laughed. “You don’t sound too positive.” Katrina said, punctuating it with by snapping shut her zippo. She took a long drag from her cigarette. “Come on, you’re going to be the Maid of Honor at Emm’s wedding, that’s awesome!”

Yes. Emily was getting married. To Mark. They had stuck it out through two and a half years of college. Well, Emily had been to two and a half, Mark had not been so academically inclined and had dropped out after a horrible year. Mark joined the Army and had been gone for the last year. He’d asked Emm to marry him because he was getting stationed in California and couldn’t bear being without her. So, they’d set their date for December 23d. Ingrid had, of course, been talked into being the Maid of Honor. Her one shining contributing thus far, other than a fantastic bachelorette party last weekend, were the dresses. Ingrid had worked her contacts and gotten Emily a one of a kind Vera Wang wedding dress, and scored herself and the two other brides maids, Sheila and Brittany, Prada dresses. If she was going to have to wear the same dress as another woman at a party, it had to be Prada.

“I know. Its just going to be such a fucking nightmare.” Ingrid said. She took a drag off her cigarette and shook her head. “Not the wedding...All the drama.”

Sheila and Bradley. That was the drama. They had broken up two weeks ago, but Bradley was Mark’s best friend. In the vacuum Ingrid created when she went to school, amazingly enough Sheila and Emily became inseparable. Funny how that sort of thing works. Now, Bradley was to be best man and Sheila a bridesmaid. Throw Ingrid into the mix, not only is she a rival for Bradley but she got to be the maid of honor, and there is going to be fireworks. Ingrid only hoped that they would wait until after the wedding.

Katrina narrowed her eyes at Ingrid. “Look girl. Emm is counting on you to be there for her. She knows it’s going to be tough. You can do it. Besides...” She leaned forward and put her hand on Ingrid’s knee. “I’ll be there to help keep you sane.”

Ingrid took Katrina’s hand and kissed it. “Thank you darling. I don’t think I can make it through this without you.”

Ingrid took a final drag from her cigarette, then stubbed it out in the ashtray on the coffee table. She laid her head back on the couch for a second, then groaned. “Ok. I’m going to get rolling. Your flight is coming in first thing in the morning. Do you want me to pick you up, or do you want to take a cab to my house?”

“I’ll take a cab hon, I know you will be tired after the rehearsal dinner.” Katrina said. She stretched like a cat, then smiled up at Ingrid. “Maybe we can get some breakfast before Mia shows up to get us ready.”

Ingrid smiled. “Ok. Sounds like a plan.” She hopped up and kissed Katrina on the cheek. “Ciao, baby. See you in the morning.”

Ingrid walked into her suite and put on her coat. It was a long, gray wool Gaultier coat, with military styling and a fantastic faux gray fox fur collar and cuffs. Coupled with the gray, Russian fur hat she’d picked up when she visited Moscow, she thought she looked like a villain in a 1960’s James Bond movie.

She’d loaded most of her stuff into the car the night before, so all she had was her toiletries and her purse to carry. “Alright hon, I’m out.”

“Drive careful, hon.” Katrina said, waving.

Ingrid walked down the spiral staircase into the game-room. God, this place is a mess, she thought. They had done some serious partying last weekend when Emm had come up to visit. The aftermath was still apparent. The three of them had gone out to a party in the East Village. The party was great and they had a fantastic time. Around midnight, they had wandered over to a trendy bar that Katrina had heard about. Despite the fact that Emm and Ingrid were both under 21, they had no problem getting alcohol. They were wrecked when they got back to the apartment. Ingrid woke up on the pool table, cuddled up to a famous musician, luckily both were clothed and pretty sure nothing had happened. Katrina was passed out on the floor in the living room with Keith Winslow, yeah, the Keith Winslow- the star of Nowheresville. Emily, much to her credit, was simply passed out alone in the bedroom.

It was a great night, what Ingrid remembered anyway. Unfortunately, the trio and friends ended up on Page Six the next morning, much to Ingrid’s chagrin. The caption under the picture read, “Gal pals Katrina Patrick and Transexual Supermodel Ingrid Wolfe hit the town Last night, partying with an unknown girlfriend at “Drink” in the East Village.” The picture was flattering, at least, Ingrid thought.

Ingrid sighed, then grabbed her keys off the counter and headed into the garage. She had traded in her Mercedes SUV for a Champagne colored 2013 Porsche Cayenne Hydrogen Hybrid. Ingrid threw her bag in the back, on top of the other bags, and climbed into the drivers seat. After getting situated, she pushed the garage door opener. She pulled into the Saturday morning New York traffic.

The three hour drive back to Arlington gave her a lot of time to think. She hadn’t been home in six months. Usually, when she went home, all she did was visit her aunt and uncle, check on the house and hang out with Emm. It was strange facing people, now that they all knew the truth about her. It made her feel like a fraud sometimes, and in many ways, they were right. She had fabricated Ingrid. Her shrink described it as a defense mechanism. Ingrid knew better. It was a legend, a cover. She’d gone deep into the cover and become Ingrid in the process. It didn’t make it any less real, it just wasn’t exactly the truth. The thought made Ingrid laugh.

She looked up at the tassel hanging from her rearview mirror. She had hung it up there after graduation in September. Aunt Janet and Uncle Fred had come up for the commencement, and she’d been so happy to see them. Uncle Red had surprised her and shown up too, and he’d even worn a suit. Just thinking about their love and support made her smile. Emm had come up, of course, and Katrina and Ingrid had taken her out to party after the ceremony. Ingrid finally had her graduation, making up for her lack of a high school graduation ceremony.

The last three years had been so hectic Ingrid rarely had time to relax. She took a full course load at NYU on top of working like a dog as a model. The hours were so crazy she rarely had time to rest. If she wasn’t working, studying, or going to class, she was working out. Ingrid’s schedule on a typical work/school day had looked something like this (as Ingrid notes it in her journal):

0500 Wake up
0515 Run 3 miles (30 minutes max)
0620 Breakfast (Egg white omelet, Fruit, coffee)
0730-1130 Class
1130 Lunch (Salad, Water, coffee)
1230 Photo shoot at Vogue.
1345 Interview with Maxim magazine
1500-1745 Class
1830 Dinner (Chicken breast, Green beans, Salad, water, strawberries)
1900 Homework
2130 Pilates
2300 bed

Yep, that was how it worked most weekdays, with little reprieve on weekends. She barely had time to think, much less have a social life. Rare weekends and days off were precious. Unfortunately, she usually just ended up spending time sleeping whenever she had down time. Katrina always did a good job of getting her out of the house, though honestly, Katrina’s schedule was little better.

Since graduation, Ingrid had felt incredibly relaxed. With only work to worry about, and of course training, she had more free time than she’d had in years. The anniversary of her parents’ death, and her maiming, had hit her very hard this year. Without the distraction of school she’d gone a little crazy.

Katrina was in Los Angeles, finishing principal photography on her new movie. Ingrid decided to go out on her own. She started drinking at “Drink” (their favorite bar), and ended up at Stonewall, yes, the Stonewall. Ingrid was really depressed, and a little drunk. She couldn’t seem to break the funk she was in with any of the usual methods and it was starting to get to her. She always had a good time at Stonewall and they treated her like royalty. She was sitting at the bar, chatting with a waitress when a super hot guy approached her. It took a lot of guts, she realized to do that, so she didn’t shoot him down right away. Instead, she ended up in his bed. He had a very big cock and knew how to use it, was how Ingrid described the experience of her one and only one night stand to Katrina and Emm. She’d felt horrible the next day, guilty, slutty. But she did have to admit that she was terribly in need of a good fucking, and that is certainly what she got.

The time leading up to Christmas was so busy with modeling jobs and personal appearances that Ingrid was able to plow under the feelings of depression. Katrina came back in town a few days ago, about the time Ingrid’s schedule was clearing up, and just in time for her to attend Emm’s wedding before scooting home to Ohio for Christmas with her folks.

Ingrid stopped by her house first, to drop off her bags. She stepped inside and felt instantly at home. She also felt strangely uneasy. While this house was full of great memories, it was also full of pain. Uncle Fred had set up the Christmas tree and put out a lot of decorations. The rest of them were in boxes in the study waiting to be put out by Ingrid. The memories warmed her heart, but she had no time to bask in them. She ran upstairs and dropped off her bags. Since she was going to be making an appearance at the rehearsal dinner in less than two hours, she went into the bathroom to put her face on. She set a foundation of mineral powder and did her eyes up in dramatic cat’s eyes (all the rage this season). She topped it off with some powder pink lipstick. She put her contacts in, leaving her glasses sitting on the vanity. The make-up made her ice blue eyes pop and seem even larger than they were, giving her that innocent look that photographers loved.

Ingrid jumped in her car and headed over to her aunt and uncle’s house. The house was warm and inviting. She caught up with them for a few minutes and was sad to have to leave to make it to the rehersal dinner on time. But, she knew she was going to be spending the next few days with them so parting again wasn’t awful.

Ingrid drove over to the Cathedral. The last time she was here was for Emm’s graduation. The church looked gorgeous with the snowy lawn and the trees glistening with ice. Ingrid got out and picked her way across the parking lot, her boots crunching in the show. She shivered from the cold, it seemed actually colder here than it had in New York. She stepped into the entry hall and stomped the snow off her boots on the mat. No one was around, but she could hear the sounds of talking and laughter from the fellowship hall.

Ingrid walked into the hall. The wedding party was gathered around the large table, but no one had sat down yet. They were milling, talking and socializing. Apparently the rehearsal came before dinner. Emm saw her walk in and launched over to her, wrapping Ingrid in a big hug. “I’m so glad you made it!” She said.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Ingrid said, smiling.

Mark walked over and gave Ingrid a hug. “Hey girl. I’m so glad you could make it.” he said. Her and Mark’s relationship had changed a little after he found out the truth. The two of them had a beer together on her roof last summer and talked it all out. Afterwards, they became far closer than they had ever been before. She felt good that her best friend was getting such a good man.

“Thanks baby.” Ingrid said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Ingrid looked around while she was shucking off her coat and hat. She could feel eyes boring into her, which made her very uncomfortable. It wasn’t the sort of attention she was used to and it was making her a little paranoid. She made the rounds and was introduced to a lot of family members, Mark’s and Emm’s, that she had never met. After an uncomfortable fifteen minutes, Sheila walked into the hall. She and Emm hugged each other warmly and talked for a minute before Sheila walked over and stood near Ingrid.
“Hey.” Ingrid said, flashing her a smile. “You are looking good, girl. I like those boots.” She genuinely did like them.

Sheila looked at her for a moment before replying. Ingrid couldn’t decipher the look, but it didn’t look good. “Thanks.” Sheila said, sounding annoyed, then turned and walked off to talk to someone else.

Ok, Ingrid thought, that’s how it’s going to be. She shook her head. “For Emm.” she muttered. “I’m doing this for Emm.”

Father Wallace came out at that point and called for everyone to head into the Sanctuary. When Ingrid followed the crowd in, she saw Bradley for the first time. He’d aged very well. His hair was grown out and a little shaggy. He had a few days growth of beard, which made him look sexy and a little rough. He was dressed sort of casual, with jeans, a button down shirt with the collar open, and a blazer. He looked great. Ingrid couldn’t help but flash him a smile. The look on his face told her he thought the same about her.

The party took their positions. They ran through the service, and let me tell you, it was seriously uncomfortable for Ingrid. Being stuck between Shelly and Brad was not pleasant. Finally, mercifully, it was over. Ingrid made a bee line out the back door. She needed a cigarette, and she needed it now.

She found her cigarettes in her overstuffed purse right off the bat, but she was digging around in vain to find her lighter. Next to her head, a flame flicked on. She turned and looked and saw Brad standing there holding a Zippo. She smiled, put her hand on his to steady the flame and lit her cigarette. She exhaled towards the ceiling of the gazebo. “Thanks hon.” she said.

“You’re welcome.” he said, grinning. “No more Virginia Slims?”

Ingrid chuckled. “No. Camel Number 9’s. The Virginia Slims are impractical if you are in a hurry...Too long. Plus, they made me seem old.” She laughed again. “I”m surprised you remember that.”

He shook his head. “I remember everything.” He reached in his leather coat and pulled out a pack of Camel Blues and lit one.

Ingrid looked at him, shocked. “Bradley. I”m surprised at you.” she said.

He laughed. “Yeah. I suppose you would be.” He shook his head. “I started after I lost my scholarship. In case you didn’t hear, I blew out my leg. It’s ok though. I had no future in pro soccer anyway. I was hanging with Sheila all the time, drinking....and other stuff.” he gave her a little sideways smile. “I just kinda picked up another bad habit.”

Ingrid took a drag from her cigarette and nodded. “It happens.” she said, then smiled at him. “We all get bad habits.”

“It’s your fault, you know?” he said, grinning.

“What?” She said, her eyes wide.

“Yep. If it wasn’t for you igniting this odd, latent smoking fetish, I would have never gone out with a girl that smoked, and would have never been tempted. Hence, your fault.” He said playfully.

She laughed. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with logic.” she said sarcastically. She looked at him seriously for a second. “You are looking good, Bradley.”

He smiled at her, that same smile that had won her over so many years ago. “You too. I love the blonde hair. I was floored when I saw you on the cover of Maxim with it.”

She unconsciously touched her hair, then smiled. “Thanks hon.” She took a last drag from her cigarette and put it out. “I”m freezing.” she said.

He nodded. “me too.” he said, laughing. then tossed his cigarette in the butt can and followed her back inside.

They all sat down at the table. Ingrid was close to Emm, while Brad was further down the table. They exchanged a few glances, but didn’t speak during the meal. Ingrid wanted a drink really bad, but since she wasn’t 21 it wasn’t allowed.

Despite some mean looks from strangers, the dinner went very well. One function down, Ingrid thought as she finished her desert. One to go.

After dinner, her and Emm went out to have a cigarette. They were laughing and smoking when Sheila came outside. Ingrid could feel the tension in the air. Emm seemed oblivious to it, but Ingrid could tell. The tension was almost unbearable as Ingrid waited for the shoe to drop, and she knew from the look on Sheila’s face as she nervously, angrily, smoked her cigarette.

Ingrid finally couldn’t take it anymore. “What?” She said.

Sheila’s eyes burned holes in Ingrid. She stared at her for a few seconds, then looked at Emm, then turned back to Ingrid. “It’s your fault.” She said flatly.

Emm piped up. “Sheila. It’s not...”

“No, Emm. You are always defending him.” Sheila said, intentionally mixing pronouns, stressing him while addressing Ingrid.

“What?” Ingrid said, seriously put off by her statement. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sheila crossed her arms and smirked at Ingrid. “I can’t believe it. I was actually impressed with you when I first met your lying ass. You were just a little boy dressed in his mother’s clothes.” she made a quiet spitting sound with her lips. “And you seduced Brad. Yeah, I know he fucked you. He admitted it to me. UGGGGGHHHH” she got so frustrated she couldn’t even speak.

Emm looked floored by this outburst. Her mouth was flapping like a fish out of water. Ingrid was just staring at Sheila coldly.
“Stop.” Emily said, trying to calm everything down.

“Yeah. Right, Emm. Ingrid...Richard, is a FREAK.” she said, actually yelling the last part at Ingrid. “And you made my boyfriend gay. I fucking hate you!” She said, then whirled on Emm. “I can’t believe you made this fucking boy your maid of honor, that makes me goddamn sick.”

“Your drunk, Sheila.” Emm said. Emm Turned to Ingrid. “I’m so sorry.” Tears were streaming down her face.

“No, Sheila should be sorry.” Ingrid said. “Couldn’t you have shown some class and waited til tomorrow to have this little come apart?”

“Fuck you.” Sheila said, slightly bowing up on Ingrid, trying to intimidate her.

Ingrid smirked at her. “Don’t.” She shook her head. “You don’t want to go there.”

Mark came out just then and seeing Sheila’s belligerent movements, rushed in to restrain her. He clearly remembered what happened to a 190 pound football player who messed with little old Richard, and didn’t want to see what would happen to 120 pound girl who crossed paths with a much taller, stronger, Ingrid.

“Sheila, settle down.” Mark said, pulling her back.

“Thank you, Mark.” Ingrid said, relaxing a little. She didn’t want to get involved in any of this, but Sheila wasn’t giving her a choice.

Mark dragged her inside, her kicking and fighting him the whole way. Emm looked over at Ingrid and broke down into tears. “I”m so sorry, Ingrid.” she said.

Ingrid wrapped her in her arms and kissed her head. “It’s ok. I’m sorry I provoked it.”

“You didn’t do anything tonight. She...She’s being such a bitch.” Emm said, “On the night before my fucking wedding she has to lose her goddam mind.”

Ingrid couldn’t help but laugh. “I know. I could tell by the way she was acting she had a beef with me, but I didn’t know it was...hatred.”

“I didn’t either. She’s never been so...vocal about it. Something recent must have happened. I mean...” Emm wiped her eyes. “She was really angry when she found out you used to be Richard. I mean really angry, but we talked her through it and she seemed ok. Something must have triggered this.”

Ingrid was trying to think of something. Then she remembered what Sheila had said. ‘You made my boyfriend gay.” It had something to do with Brad, and she was going to find out what it was.

It took a little while for all the hubbub to die down. Ingrid was getting ready to leave when she finally caught Brad alone. “Brad. I need to talk to you. In private.” She said.

He nodded, then looked back towards the hall. “Yeah. Want to get some coffee?”

She smiled. “My weakness.”

“Remember the diner over by the Automat?” He said, looking at his watch.

“Yeah. I love that place.” She said. That was the place where Emm had first met Ingrid. “When?”

“Half an hour? I need to talk to Mark, then I”ll be there.” He said.

“Ok.” He reached out and touched her hand, then walked into the other room. Ingrid walked over to Emm.

“Hey hon, I’m gonna go” She said. “I”m still so sorry about all the mess.”

Emm shook her head. “I don’t care about that, I’m sorry she hurt you.”

Ingrid smiled at Emm and kissed her on the head. “She didn’t hurt me. I’ve got thick skin. People have said worse...Hell, Westboro Baptist Church picketed my agency for a week.” Ingrid smiled at her. “I just don’t want it to ruin your wedding.”

Emm shook her head. “Nothing is going to ruin my wedding. I’ll see you in the morning at nine. My house. Mimosas and make-up.” She said, smiling.

“OK. Kat’s flight comes in at 7. Mia’s flight gets in at 735. They are going to get a cab together and head to my place, so we’ll head your way right after.” Ingrid said. She smiled at Emm. “I’m going to go meet Brad at the diner.” Ingrid whispered.

Emm smiled at her. “Ok...Don’t stay out so late you can’t make it in the morning.” she said, giving her a cockeyed grin.

“I won’t, mother.” Ingrid said.

Ingrid pulled into the diner. It looked exactly the same as it did three years ago, the last time she’d been here. She threw her bag over her shoulder and went inside. After living in New York City for the last few years, now it was a total novelty to be in a diner you could smoke in. Ah, she thought, a place that remembers what goes best with coffee. The waitress behind the counter smiled at her. “Hey darlin, sit wherever you like.”

“Danke.” Ingrid said, then took a back corner booth where she and Emm used to come after school. Ingrid got a cup of coffee and was just lighting a cigarette when Brad came in. He smiled at her.

“Coffee please.” He said to the waitress as he sat down.

“Coffee too? My, you have been corrupted.” She said, smiling at him.

“I know. My depravity knows no bounds.” He said as he shrugged out of his coat.

Ingrid took a drag off her cigarette. “It’s good to see you, Bradley.” she said.

He looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. “Same here. God you are beautiful.” It actually made Ingrid blush. “No, I mean it Ingrid. Shit, no wonder I was totally spoiled after you.” He said, dropping his cigarettes and lighter on the table.
Ingrid looked up at him. “Spoiled?” She said, then slid the ashtray over so he could use it. “What do you mean, spoiled?”

He smiled at her, then whispered. “You don’t have to use the accent with me, Ingrid.”

Ingrid laughed. “I don’t even realize I’m using it any more...it’s just how I talk. It’s requires conscious effort to not do it these days.” She said. “Don’t change the subject. Spoiled?”

He looked into her big blue eyes for a second. “Spoiled. Damn Ingrid. Look at you. After you, everything else seemed...bland. I...I loved everything about you.”

She narrowed her eyes. Things were clicking into place a little more. “Everything?” she asked.

“Yes. Everything. Sheila...” He stopped and lit a cigarette. He seemed like he was trying to figure out how to say it. “Sheila was great...A rebound that lasted a lot longer than was truly healthy. She was fun...But, honestly, she wasn’t you. She didn’t have what you have.”

Ingrid wanted to be crystal clear on everything. “I have...several things that make me different from her, Brad.” Ingrid said over the rim of her coffee cup. “Which ones are you referring to?”

He smiled. “Your style. Your wit. Your...” He looked down at the table for a second and seemed to be blushing. “cock.” he whispered.

Ingrid grinned. That was what she meant, something must have come up about this recently. “Well. I knew she didn’t have any of those things, dear.” Ingrid said, trying not to sound too catty. “But I thought you liked her more for not having the latter.”

Brad took a sip of his coffee. He swallowed, then set his jaw bravely. “No.” He said. “At first I did, then I started realizing I liked your...Arrangement.” he laughed quietly. “It caused me a lot of heartache, Ingrid. Trying to come to terms with it.”

Ingrid rested her chin in her hand and listened. “Go on.” she said.

“I was really confused after our...our time in the mountains. Seeing you with that Thomas guy really got to me.” he said. “I was able to hide my...desires, even from myself, for about a year. About that time, you started blowing up...I saw you everywhere. It re-awakened some feelings. I started having fantasies...You know what I mean.” He said, sounding really nervous about talking like this. “Anyway. When the stuff came out about you, publicly, last year. Sheila got really pissed. I was able to smooth it all under, claiming I didn’t know and all that. She bought it, so it was all good. Anyway, about three weeks ago, I fucked up. I left the web browser open on the computer after I’d been enjoying my favorite porn sites. And yes, they were transsexuals...she--males.” he blushed. “Sheila found it...She also found the dildo I’d bought. Yeah, it was a very bad scene. She left me that day.” He shrugged. “You kinda ruined me on regular girls, Ingrid.”

Ingrid was floored. “Really?” She said. “You mean...You prefer me this way?” Her mind was racing, trying to keep up with the curve balls he was throwing.

He smiled. “Yeah. I guess I do.” he said. “I’ve been carrying a torch for you for years.”

Ingrid looked down at the table, then back up at him. “Me too.” she said. “I’ve been in...I’ve been in love with you since before you even knew I existed.”

They looked at each other for a moment, then leaned in and gently kissed each other on the lips. That same old electric spark was still there.

“So...Where do we go from here?” Ingrid asked, hoping he would say bed.

“I don’t know. It’s up to you really. You still have that big house? I live in the dorms now.” He said, smiling at her.

Ingrid put her cigarettes and lighter in her purse. “My house then.” she said. “Meet you there?”

They stood up and embraced. They kissed for a few seconds, exploring each others mouths. “Yes.” he said, “Good idea.”

Ingrid pulled into her garage. She was nervous as a school girl as she got out and rushed into the house. She tossed her keys on the island, and rushed into the living room.

She needed a drink, and fast. swinging open the liquor cabinet, she grabbed a bottle of single malt and poured herself a couple of fingers. She’d only taken a sip when the door bell rang.

Ingrid’s heart was pounding as she opened the door. Bradley stood, framed in the light reflecting off the snow, looking as gorgeous as ever.

“Hi.” Ingrid said, then bit her lip. “Come on in.”

Bradley stepped in and stomped the snow off his boots on the mat.

“Sorry ‘bout the snow.” He said.

“It’s ok, I haven’t gotten to shovel the walk yet.” She said, closing the door. “Go ahead and take them off if you want.”

She walked over towards the bar. “Want a drink?” she asked, then took a sip of her scotch. “Its good.”

He chuckled as he pulled off his boots. “Sure. I’ll have what you’re having.”

She poured him some Scotch then set it on the coffee table. Ingrid walked over and turned on the gas fireplace before sitting down on the brown leather sofa.
Brad walked over and sat next to her. He picked up his glass and held it up in toast.

“To honesty.” he said, smiling.

“To honesty.” She said, then they clinked glasses and drank. “I’m so glad you...I’m glad you’re here.”

He reached out and touched her hand. “Me too.”

They looked at each other for a moment, neither wanting to speak for fear of ruining the moment. Ingrid was the first to look away. She pulled out her silver cigarette case and removed a cigarette. Brad, ever the gentleman, lit it for her. She smiled and mouthed thank you.

“It’s weird.” Brad said, then lit his own cigarette. “I’ve wanted to be here with you for so long. Now, I have to admit, you are a little intimidating.” he said with a little smile.

“Why, honey?” She said, her eyes wide with surprise.

He laughed and shook his head. “Ingrid...You are a famous model, and so amazing looking. Any guy would be intimidated by you. If I hadn’t had a history with you, I would have been scared shitless to talk to you.”

Ingrid waved him off like he was crazy. “Untrue.”

“No, it really is true. Most guys are super intimidated by beautiful women...Especially tall supermodels.” He said.

“I’m not a supermodel.” Ingrid said, indignantly.

“That’s not what the press is saying. Remember, I pay attention to such things, girly.” Brad said, grinning at her. “Sure, the age of the old supermodels is over, but you and Felicia Stewart are being called the new wave of supermodels.”

She blushed. Ingrid had heard that before, but didn’t like the title. It seemed like a complete fabrication to her, since she didn’t get paid anything like the million dollars a show that the old supermodels like Cindy Crawford got, though she had gotten close to that a few times last year. “Ok. Ok. But, I don’t get hit on that often, really. Most people, if they know who I am, know that I’m transgendered...A lot of them look down on me, or at least don’t want to admit that they are into me.” She said, meaning every word of it. “I’m a beautiful freak...see the boy who turned into a girl.” she said, playing the last bit up like a carnival barker. She shrugged.

“You aren’t a freak, Ingrid.” He said, then leaned in and kissed her. “no more of a freak than the rest of us.”

She practically melted from his kiss. “Thanks, baby.” She said, then took a last drag from her cigarette before standing up and taking his hand. “Come on.” she said, then scooped her purse off the table and led Bradley upstairs.

“Wow.” He said, looking around the master suite. “This is really nice.”

She smiled at him, then tossed her purse next to the bed. “Thanks. I left it just like my parents had it. I love this room.” She said, then sat on the bed and pulled off her boots.

Brad sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked nervous. His leg was shaking with anticipation. Ingrid thought it was cute. She leaned in and kissed him. Gently at first, then they wrapped in one another’s arms and the kiss became passionate. Consuming.

They kissed for a long time, exploring each others mouths, rubbing one another’s backs, feeling their bodies against one another. Ingrid broke the kiss and stopped to catch her breath. She leaned back on the bed for a moment, then pulled off her sweater. Brad got the hint and stripped off his shirt. They stared at each other for a second, taking in the changes time had wrought on them both. Brad’s chest and abs, which had been nice in high school, were great now. Ingrid had gone from a skinny teenage boy with breast forms, to a full grown woman with her own, implanted, C cup breasts. She reached back and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to her lap, exposing her engorged nipples to him for the first time. He looked at her breasts, then his eyes slid down her hard abdomen to the small silver ring and charm hanging from her belly button.

“Wow.” he said softly. Ingrid blushed. The two of them kissed again, feeling their bare skin against one another. Ingrid could feel a hardness beginning in her panties as her penis strained against her panties. It was starting to get uncomfortable. She reached down and felt Brad’s raging erection through his pants. He moaned when she touched it for the first time.

“I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.” Ingrid said playfully.

Brad didn’t need to be invited twice. He laughed and started pulling off his pants. Ingrid did the same. Then they both got out of their underwear and were completely naked.

“Wow.” Ingrid said. It was her turn to be impressed. He looked bigger than he had before. Her cock was sticking straight out, though it was not completely hard. Bradley looked at it for a moment, then up to her face.

They were kissing again, entwined in one another’s embrace. Bradley surprised her when he reached down and took hold of her cock. He wasn’t tentative about it, not embarrassed like the first time. He wanted to touch it and wasn’t ashamed. Ingrid smiled into his mouth as they kissed. His touch felt good. His hands were rough, manly. She reached down and reciprocated, running her soft fingertips up and down his rock hard erection.

“You can still get hard.” he said, still gently stroking her penis.

She nodded. “I can. Sometimes I can’t, but when I’m really turned on it still rises to the occasion.” she said with a giggle.

His eyes veered from her cock to her hip. He looked up at her and smiled. “you have a tattoo.” he said.

Ingrid nodded. “Yep, I do. I got it three weeks ago.” she said, looking down at the small tattoo on her left hip. It was in black ink, depicting two small angels embracing. Below it were the numbers 112807.
“For your parents?” Brad asked.

Ingrid nodded then kissed him again, not wanting to talk about it. They kissed for a minute, then Brad broke the kiss. He kissed his way down her chest, giving each nipple a bit of attention, then down her abs, finally he got to her cock. He took the tip in his mouth and sucked on it gently. Ingrid moaned. He took it deep into his mouth, taking it almost all the way in on the first go. He backed off, then went back down taking it all the way inside his mouth. Ingrid clawed at the sheets, writhing with pleasure as he went down on her.

“Yes, baby.” she purred. “that’s so good.”

He sucked on her for a little while, occaisionally stopping to let his mouth rest and licking up and down her shaft. She turned herself where she could get to his cock then took it in her hand. It was huge, dripping pre-cum. She licked it up and down like a lollipop. Brad intensified his efforts as she took the tip of his cock into her mouth and sucked gently on its head. Ingrid started going down on him, taking a little more in her mouth each time she bobbed back down. She couldn’t quite get all eight inches in without gagging, but she kept trying. Eventually, she got herself positioned right, swallowed first, then thrust her mouth down until the tip of his cock entered her throat. Brad stopped sucking her for a minute and moaned, then as she was coming back up, he came, shooting a massive load into her mouth.

Ingrid swallowed most of it, but some still dribbled out of her mouth onto the sheets. She ran her hand through his hair as he continued sucking her cock. Then, Ingrid pulled on his shoulder gently to get him to sit up. She kissed him deeply, pulling him tight.

“I don’t want to cum that way.” she said finally. “I want to cum with you inside me, Bradley.” she looked down at his cock. “And it’s going to take a little while for you to be ready to go. So, we have a cigarette and a drink...then we get back to business.” She said, smiling.

Ingrid hopped out of the bed and grabbed the bottle of scotch and their glasses. She poured some out for both of them. They clinked glasses then drank. They laid there for a while, cuddled together, enjoying the closeness. Ingrid rolled over after a bit and grabbed her cigarettes, Brad followed suit. They smoked in silence for a bit, basking in one another’s company. Brad rolled onto his side and smiled. “Hey, you have another tattoo.” he said, pointing to the small black tattoo on the underside of her right arm, just above her armpit.

She smiled sheepishly. “I do.” she said, then held her arm up so he could see. The words were tiny, sized like a twelve point font. She’d had it done in LA by an artist who was famous for making perfect font style writing and had done work on actresses like Meagan Fox and Angelina Jolie. It a simple, yet chilling phrase, “Forget Nothing, Forgive No One”.

Bradley looked at it for a moment, then looked back in her eyes. “Not quite a happy butterfly sort of tattoo.” he said, trying to act like it didn’t sort of bother him.

She shrugged. “I wasn’t in a happy butterfly sort of place when I got it.” She leaned over, grabbed an ashtray and put it between them. “I use some tattoo cover when I do shows, unless the designer doesn’t care. Gaultier doesn’t mind, he actually likes the tattoos and he’s been my sugar daddy.” She said, then took a long, cheek hollowing drag off her cigarette. “I covered it for the Maxim shoot.”

“Aghhh, that’s why I hadn’t seen it before.” He said. “Why?”

“Why’d I cover it?” She shrugged. “I dunno...It’s private and has meaning for me, and me alone.” she said. Ingrid took a last drag from her cigarette then put it out. Brad followed suit. She drained the last of her scotch. “Now, where were we?”

They kissed. “Oh, yeah. That’s where we were.” She said. They both laughed, then kissed again. Ingrid crawled on top of him. She could feel his erection beginning to grow against her. Her own cock was hardening, though without direct stimulation it wouldn’t get fully erect. She was more interested in a different kind of stimulation right now though. Ingrid reached into the drawer and pulled out a tube of lube then squeezed some into her hand. She rubbed it around her sphincter then slowly started working her fingers inside herself while she kissed Brad. After a little stretching, she decided she was ready to go so she lifted herself up on her knees and took his cock in her hand. She placed the tip against her sphincter and slowly lowered herself onto his throbbing member. The tip slid though her sphincter, making her gasp. It felt huge, even after stretching herself out a bit with her fingers. She pulled off and did it again, this time getting a little further down. Once more and she was able to get it half way in. She grimaced with pain as she pushed herself further down onto his huge cock. Slowly she slid up the shaft, then plunged down again. Now the initial pain turned to pure pleasure as she began to ride him. Her cock bounced up and down, and was just about as erect as it got. She fucked him like that for about fifteen minutes. Brad, pushed to the limit, finally came unable to stop himself. Ingrid kept going, fucking him harder now. She reached down and stroked her cock as she rode him. It only took a couple of minutes of that and she was pushed to the edge. Finally, she came, shooting a small dollop of cum onto his belly. Despite the small amount of ejaculate, her orgasm was spectacular. Ingrid collapsed onto his chest, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

She lay there on top of him, his hard cock still in her ass, trying to catch her breath. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Ingrid looked at Brad and saw he shared the exact same look. She kissed him again, happier than she had been in a very long time.

Ingrid opened her eyes to the harsh light of a winter morning. The white light was streaming in through the huge picture window falling right across the bed.

Ding Dong. That damn bell again, Ingrid thought, covering her head with the covers.

“Shit. Doorbell.” She said, throwing off the covers. She threw on her robe and rushed down stairs just as the doorbell rang again. She opened the door and saw Katrina and Mia shivering on the steps.

“Bout time, sleepy head.” Katrina said, then gave her a hug. Katrina was wearing a blue, North Face Parka and a toboggan that barely held in her shockingly red hair. Mia was wearing a leather biker jacket with a striped scarf that looked like something off Harry Potter.

“Hey, hon.” Ingrid said, squeezing her tight. “Come on in, it’s really fucking cold out here.” Katrina walked past her and Ingrid took Mia into a hug.

“Hey Girl.” Mia said. “You look like shit.”

Ingrid laughed. “That’s why you’re here.”

She ushered them inside where it was warm. They dropped their rolling bags next to the door and stomped the snow off their boots.

“Nice house.” Mia said as she shrugged out of her biker jacket.

“Thanks. Coffee?” Ingrid said, heading towards the kitchen.

“Please.” Both girls said at the same time, which brought a laugh from all three.

“Cool. Make yourself at home, I’ll be right out.” Ingrid said, heading into the kitchen.

Katrina hung up her coat and sat down on the couch. “I’m glad it’s warm in here...It’s colder here than in New York.” She said.

Mia laughed, then plopped on the couch next to her. “Yeah. I’m a California girl, this weather is for the birds.” Mia said, then dug a cigarette out of her purse and lit it.

Mia had been Ingrid’s stylist for the last year, and she’d worked with Katrina for two years before that. Mia was a beautiful, tall, half-Japanese girl with full sleeve tat’s and nearly waist length fire engine red hair. She was also transgendered, a fact she didn’t even tell Katrina about until after she’d met Ingrid. Mia played bass in a really hard rocking band, but worked as a stylist and make-up artist to pay the bills. She was very good, and the three girls enjoyed hanging out as well as working together.

“I hope you two are happy, I had to miss a gig for this weekend.” Mia said, loud enough for Ingrid to hear in the kitchen.

“I know, and you are a goddess.” Ingrid yelled. “Coffee coming up.” she said as she walked into the living room with three steaming mugs. She passed them out then opened the liquor cabinet. “Whisky?”

The girls both smiled. “You read my mind.” Katrina said, holding out her mug.

Ingrid sat down on the couch next to Mia and took one of her cigarettes without asking.

“Yes, you can have one.” Mia said, then poked Ingrid in the side.

“Thanks.” Ingrid said, lighting her cigarette. “We have about two hours before we have to hook up over at Emm’s house.”

“So, sleepy beauty...” Katrina said, grinning devilishly, “Did you have company last night, or did you just get shit-faced at the rehearsal dinner.”

Ingrid grinned sheepishly, then filled them in on everything that happened. Well, almost everything, she didn’t give them a blow by blow of her encounter with Brad, she just told them they’d spent the night together.

“So, that bitch made a scene at the rehearsal dinner?” Mia asked over the rim of her coffee cup.

“Well, outside. I don’t know how much of it spilled inside. I’m dreading finding out, too.” Ingrid said, shaking her head.

“Fuck it. We can’t let this ruin Emm’s wedding.” Katrina said resolutely.

“Right.” Ingrid said firmly. She looked at the two of them. “Thanks for being her for me, y’all.” She said, smiling at them.

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Katrina said.

“I just wanted to see if they wore shoes were you came from.” Mia said devilishly.
Ingrid flipped her off and the three of them laughed.

After a little while, they unloaded the rest of the stuff from the girl’s rental car. Ingrid then excused herself and ran upstairs to take a shower. Soon enough though, it was time to head over to the Vandiveer’s house to get ready for the wedding.

They were only running a few minutes behind, unlike everyone it seemed at the Vandiveer’s house. Amanda, Emm’s mother, answered the door. She smiled broadly at the three girls. “Hi girls. We are running behind.” she gave Ingrid a hug, then turned to the other two. “Hi Katrina. I’m so glad to finally get to meet you. I loved your show, we watched it every week.” She said.

Katrina smiled, then accepted her hug. “It’s good to meet you too. I’m glad I could come.” She said.

Amanda turned to Mia. “Hi, I’m Amanda Vandiveer.” she said, holding out her hand.

Mia took her hand. “Mia.” she said with a little smile.

“Well, come on in. Mia, you can set up in here.” She said, gesturing to the dining room. Mia carried her cases in and set them on the floor. “Girls, Emm is up in here room. If you want to carry your dresses up there now you can. We have coffee on, and breakfast is on the buffet.”

Emm apparently heard them and came rushing down the stairs. She was wearing her pajamas. She flew into Ingrid’s arms. “Ingrid.” she said, then gave here a quick peck on the lips. “I’m so freaking out.” she said, her voice dripping with anxiety. She turned and hugged Katrina. “Hey honey, I”m so glad you are here.” Emm looked around. “Where’s Mia?”

Mia piped up from the dining room. “I”m in here.” She said, then poked her head around the corner. “Hello, bride to be.”

Emm rushed over and gave Mia a hug. “Thank you so much for coming.” She said. “I can’t believe you volunteered to do this for free.”

Mia smirked. “Well, its not exactly free. Ingrid paid for the first class tickets, is putting me up at her place...” She grinned at Ingrid. “...And promised me a raging after party.”

Emm hugged her tight. “Thank you.” She said, then turned and smiled at Ingrid.

People were milling around all through the house, in various stages of wakefulness and the atmosphere was crazy.

Emm turned to the girls and stage whispered. “I would kill for a cigarette right now.”

Mia laughed. “Well, I want one too before I get started. And after we do your make-up and hair you are not going to get another chance for a several hours, so let’s do it.” She said.

Katrina piped up. “I’m in.” She looked at Ingrid with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m good.” Ingrid said, smiling.

The three girls headed outside, so Mia made her way into the kitchen.
“I heard there was coffee?”

Amanda was standing at the buffet, sipping her own cup. “That there is.” she said, then poured a cup for Ingrid. “Black right?”

Ingrid nodded then took the cup. “Danke.” she said.

Amanda looked at her for a moment, then put down her cup. She walked over and placed her hand on Ingrid’s. “Ingrid honey.” she started. “I...I know when I first met you. After you...” She struggled for words.

“Transitioned.” Ingrid said over the rim of her coffee cup.

“Right. Transitioned.” Amanda said, smiling with relief at being rescued. “I was a little harsh. I didn’t mean to be, I just didn’t understand, I guess.” She looked embarrassed. “I was being judgemental and not taking things into account. So much of your story came out in the media, and you were so brave. I don’t think I could have gone through that. And look at you.” she said, smiling at her. “You turned out so beautiful. I can’t even imagine you being a man.”

Ingrid chuckled. “I know. I can’t either.”

Amanda looked like she was fighting back tears. “You have been so good to Emily. You’ve given her so much and never asked anything in return.” Amanda said, her eyes going to the simple Claire’s Boutique silver BFF heart Ingrid wore around her neck. “I mean, we could never hope to afford that wedding dress you got for her.”

“I couldn’t either.” Ingrid said laughing. “Vera owed me a favor.”
Ingrid took her hand. “Emm means the world to me, Ms. Vandiveer. She saved my life. I owe everything I am to her.”

The tears that Amanda had been fighting finally broke free. She smiled at Ingrid then gave her a hug. She broke the embrace, then looked around wiping her eyes. “Where is Emily? Smoking I bet.” she said, sounding disgusted. “You kids know that is horrible for you.”

Ingrid laughed. “Spoken like a true mom.”

Amanda smiled at her. “We need to look out for you girls.”

Ingrid nodded. “I know.”

As soon as Mia, Katrina and Emm came back into the house, Mia started getting her stuff ready to work on everyone. She arranged all the tools of her trade around the dining room table. “Alright, Emm. You are up first.” She said, gestruing to the chair.

Emm sat down. Amanda, Katrina and Ingrid were standing near the door watching. Mia pulled off her sweater and tossed it on a chair, revealing her full sleeve tattoos. Amanda got a really worried look on her face, which made Ingrid giggle.

Mia got to work on Emm’s hair. She put in curlers first, lots of small one to add even more ringlets to Emily’s long blonde hair. When she was finished she stood back and admired the work. “Ok. Now, make-up.” she said.

The Emm’s phone rang. Emily pulled it out of her pocket. “It’s Sheila.” she said. “Hello.”

Emily listened for a minute. Her facial expression changed. “What?”
She said, sounding flabbergasted. “No. I”m not going to do that.”

The tension in the room shot up a notch. Everyone looked at each other.

“NO. That is such bullshit!” Emily said, her face turning bright red, tears began to detatch from her eyelashes and run down her cheeks. “Why are you waiting...” She started. She looked like she was going to scream. “No. Ok, fuck you.” Emily said, then hung up the phone. She sat there for a second, everyone stunned. Then put her face in her hands and started to cry.

Amanda rushed to her. “What’s going on, baby?”

Ingrid rushed to her other side. Mia just stepped back and stood next to Katrina.

“She...” Emily started. “She said she was not going to be a bridesmaid if some boy was going to be my maid of honor.” She struggled to get the words out around her tears.

Ingrid’s blood turned to ice. She could see Mia’s expression harden. Ingrid felt horrible, like she’d ruined everything. “I’m so sorry, honey.” Ingrid said.

Emily shook her head. “No. It’s not your fault. She’s being a bitch.” She turned to her mom. “Sorry mom, but it’s true.”

Amanda shook her head. “No, I fully agree.” She rubbed Emily’s back. “Well, we will just have to be one bridesmaid short.”

Emily tried to straighten up, but it took a while. Her sobs shook her body. Eventually, she was able to calm down. She looked at Ingrid. “I’m so sorry, Ingrid. That bridesmaid dress cost a fortune.” She said.

Ingrid just shrugged. “It’s ok.”

“No...It’s not ok. She didn’t need to do this crap. Now I’m one bridesmaid short and...” She looked over at Katrina, then a little smile crossed her face. “Unless...Could you wear that dress, Katrina?”

Katrina looked flabbergasted. “Me?”

Everyone looked at her. She was about the same height as Sheila, 5’6”, and roughly the same build.

“It won’t fit.” Katrina said.

“I can make it fit.” Mia said, smiling.

Katrina looked at them all, then grinned. “always a bridesmaid...”

They all laughed.

“Ok. Emm. Let’s go have a cigarette and get you calmed down. Mrs. Vandiveer, can you make some tea? I need the tea bags for her eyes, since she’s gone and gotten them all puffy.” Mia said, pulling Emm outside.

A few minutes later, Mia was working on Emm again, pulling her hair out of the curlers. Emm had the tea bags on her eyes, and it seemed to be working. Mia pulled them off and appraised them. “Alright, a little caffeine has done the trick, lets get going.” She said, grinning. She pulled out her airbrush and got to work. “Airbrush make-up is the shit, Emm. It’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
Half an hour later, Emm was done. She looked stunning. “There. You look fantastic, if I don’t say so myself.” Mia said, handing her the mirror.

Emm looked at herself and was floored. Her skin looked flawless. Mia had given her these fantastic eyes, using shades of brown, and had applied false eyelashes about a mile long. She looked like she’d stepped off the cover of Modern Bride magazine. “Wow.” she said. “Thank you so much.” she gave Mia a hug.

“Yeah, yeah. Next.” Mia said with a grin. “Now, go get dressed.”

Emm rushed upstairs.

“Alright Ingrid, you’re up.” she said. “And Mrs. Vandiveer. After you help Emm, get back down here.”

“Me?” She said. “I was going to do my own make-up.” She said, surprised.

“Mrs. Vandiveer. You have a top make-up artist in your house offering to do it for you for free. I’d take her up on the offer.” Ingrid said, grinning.

It didn’t take long to do Ingrid or Katrina’s make up. They were going for a natural look, using the same pallette as Emm, but played down. They weren’t trying to overshadow the bride.

Brittany showed up just as Katrina was finished. She seemed a little star-struck meeting Katrina for the first time, and was really surprised by Sheila backing out like she had. She was also a little intimidated, it seemed, by Mia. The intimidation passed quickly and she was under her ministrations. Mia did the same make-up on her she’d done on the other girls while Katrina and Ingrid stepped outside to get a cigarette.

“So.” Brittany said. “Are you friends with Emm...Or did they hire you for today?”

Mia smiled. “Well, I’ve hung out with Emm a few times when she came to New York. I’m friends with Katrina and Ingrid, so I know her by association.”

“Oh. Ok.” Brittany said. “Are you a professional make-up artist?”

Mia nodded. “I am. Have been for about three years now. Dropped out of college and headed to New York. The rest is history.”

The girls came back in, then headed upstairs to get dressed. Amanda came down stairs to get her make-up done, driven out by the girls giggling and silliness.

Ingrid looked at Emm in the mirror. “You look stunning.” She said, leaning over her shoulder. “I can’t believe you are getting married. I”m so jealous.”

Emm leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you baby. I can hardly believe it myself. And this dress...I feel like a princess.” She said. Emm craned her neck to look at Katrina, who was on the other side of the room getting dressed. “And I have a movie star as a bridesmaid.” She smiled. “It’s crazy.”

“I”m sorry about Sheila. I didn’t want any of this to happen.” Ingrid said, truly sorry about the whole thing.

“Not your problem. Fuck her. She can be such a bitch sometimes. She could have waited for all this until later.” Emm said angrily.

They hugged. “Ok. Well, we need to get downstairs.”

The four girls descended the stairs. Dr. Vandiveer was standing at the bottom of the stairs, wearing his dapper tuxedo, looking up at them. “Well, that is a vision of beauty.” he said, taking Emily into an embrace. “And you girls...Stunning.” he said, hugging each of them.

Amanda came out of the dining room. Emily’s smile widened. The make-up job Mia had done took ten years off her. Dr. Vandiveer looked over and had to do a double take.

“Wow.” he said. “You must be Emily’s big sister.”

Amanda blushed then gave him a hug.

“Who did your make-up?” He asked.

Mia was walking out of the dining room then. Dr. Vandiveer looked at her for a moment, not sure what to make of the tall, tattooed girl with fire engine red hair.

“Mia, this is my husband. Dr. Martin Vandiveer.” Amanda said, introducing them. “Mia is Katrina and Ingrid’s personal stylist. She came down and did all our make-up, and Emily’s hair.”

He smiled, chiding himself internally for snapping to judgement. “Well, she is truly a professional.” he said, holding out his hand.

She shook it. “Thank you Doctor. I had good canvasses to work on.” She said, then scooped up her biker jacket and purse. “And if you excuse me, I’m going to step outside for a minute.”

“Well.” He said. “It’s almost show time. Emily, you are riding with us. Girls, are you riding together?”

Ingrid nodded. “I drove my car. Katrina and Brittany are going to ride with me. Mia is going to load up her stuff in the rental car and take it back to the house. She’ll change clothes there, then come to the wedding since she’s not part of the wedding party and doesn’t have to be so early.” Ingrid said.

“Ok. Sounds like a plan.” He said, “I’ll help Mia load her things.”

The scene at the church was frantic. The whole wedding party was being rushed around, all the while trying to keep the bride and groom from seeing one another. Ingrid came out of the bathroom and ran into Bradley. He’d shaved and was looking very good in his black Tux.

“Hi.” he said, hugging her.

“Hello, darling.” Ingrid said, squeezing him tight. Memories of last night flooding back. “You are looking good this morning for someone who got very little sleep.”

He grinned at her. “So are you. You look stunning.” he said, then kissed her on the lips.

“Careful with my lipstick. Mia will kill me if I mess it up.” She said, grinning. They walked together around the corner. Mark was standing in the doorway to one of the Sunday school classrooms. He looked sharp in his uniform. The Army had been good for him. He stood up straighter, carried himself more confidently. The tan beret and Ranger tab on his shoulder showed he had definitely adapted to the Army way. The Combat Rifleman medal and Purple Heart showed that he was walking the walk, so to speak.

“Mark.” Ingrid said. “I am tempted to steal you away from Emily.” she said with a grin. He gave her a hug. His chest felt like it was made of stone.

“Thanks, Ingrid.” He smiled at her. “I”m sorry about the whole mess with that girl.” He said, referring to Sheila the way he usually did, preferring not to say her name.

Ingrid smiled. “No worries, love.”

She squeezed Brad’s hand. “I gotta go. See you out there.”

The service was beautiful. Emily made a beautiful bride. Ingrid felt so special standing there as her Maid of honor. She looked out across the crowd and recognized so many people from school, it was a little strange, but she didn’t let it get to her. She gave a little wave to Uncle Fred and Aunt Janet, who were sitting a few rows back. Mia had slipped in and was sitting near the back of the church.

The reception was being held next door to the church in the Knights of Columbus hall. After getting pictures made for what seemed like a thousand years, Ingrid and the girls made a bee line for the gazebo to get a cigarette. It was really cold outside, and even in their coats, it was too cold to smoke so they headed into the hall.
The reception went well. No one got so drunk they made fools of themselves, which counted in Ingrid’s book as a major victory. The only thing of real note, that all of them would laugh about for years, happened to Mia.

Mia was standing near the bar enjoying a glass of champagne. Lawrence Fincher, I know that guy keeps turning up like a bad penny, walked up to her and started trying to chat her up. He told her she looked like Katt Von Dee or something, and thought that was really sexy. She smiled and tried to be polite, but was giving him the brush off. He didn’t get the message though, since he was sure that all girls loved him. After all, he was the captain of the football team in high school, so all girls must love him. She gave him the silent treatment after his initial attempts, so he tried another tack. He noticed Ingrid standing over by Emily talking. He pointed her out.

“She’s not really a girl, you know. I went to school with him. Crazy, huh?” Lawrence said.
Mia looked at him. “Of course I know.” she said.

He looked soft of taken back. “Well, yeah. I guess most people know that now. It’s just hard to believe anyone would want to do that, you know?”

Mia smirked at him. “I completely understand.” she said.

“I don’t. I mean, I can totally tell though. He never fooled me. I can spot a tranny from a mile off.” He said, sounding full of bravado and very proud of himself. “Anyway, I didn’t catch your name, baby.” he said, throwing Mia that smile that had made the prom queen wet.

“Jeremiah.” she said, holding out her hand. “But you can call me Mia.”

He too her hand and started to respond before it sunk in. “You mean...” he started.

Mia nodded and grinned.

He turned and walked off, looking very, very confused.

Brittany caught the bouquet, which made her incredibly happy. The lovebirds left, off for their honeymoon, in Mark’s truck, which had been severely desecrated by Brad and his friends, covered in shaving cream and festooned with cans.

Ingrid stopped to talk to Brad before she headed home. “Hey honey. My house, one hour. Be there or be square.” she purred, then kissed him on the lips.

“Wouldn’t miss it.” he said, then kissed her again.

The girls went back to Ingrid’s place and changed into more comfortable clothes to get ready for the party. Twenty or so people showed up within the hour and the party was in full swing by eight o’clock. By ten, the old folks had left and the young people started partying in earnest. Ingrid was very drunk by eleven. Several guys tried to hit on Katrina and Mia, but they deflected all their advanced. Finally, around one in the morning, the party was breaking up. The girls headed off to their bedrooms, and Ingrid dragged Bradley upstairs to her suite. She was pretty wasted, but it had made her horny. She could hardly wait until they were in the room to start making out with him.

Ingrid and Brad made out for a while, enjoying the spark of their new relationship. They went through every permutation of oral sex, taking their time, not rushing it. Ingrid was aching to be fucked, after having her cock sucked and her ass rimmed. She’d done the same to him, and was hoping that he would give it to her soon.

“I want you to fuck me.” Brad said, grinning at her.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Ingrid said, then started to straddle him.

“No, baby. I mean. I want you to fuck me.” He said, then stroked her cock a few times.

“Oh.” she said, then grinned. She’d only had sex twice when she was doing the fucking, and both those times had been years ago with Emily. “I think I can.” she said.

She lubed him up good, then lubed up her cock. It was about as hard as it could get, but it was still not rigid. It took some work to get it inside him, but once she did, it felt very good. She pumped away while he moaned and gritted his teeth. It didn’t take very long before he came, a couple of minutes really. Ingrid was still a long way from cumming herself.

Bradley, being young and virile, didn’t lose his hard on because he came. So he rolled her over and gave her a good, hard fuck. She was screaming and tearing at the sheets with her fingernails before he was done.

Later, sated, they curled up together and fell asleep in one another’s arms. This time, he didn’t have to leave in the middle of the night.

Ingrid woke up in Bradley’s arms the next morning. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was already after eleven. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep, hoping the pounding in her head would go away. Bradley woke up around the same time and managed to actually drag himself out of bed. She heard him stumble into the bathroom, which made her realize just how much she had to go. So, her head protesting, she got out of bed and wandered over to the bathroom. Bradley was standing up urinating when she walked into the bathroom. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her. Ingrid shifted from foot to foot, doing a very sedate version of the pee pee dance. When Brad was done, she zipped over, pulled down her panties and sat down. Brad chuckled.

“You never pee standing up, do you?” he asked, leaning against the vanity.

Ingrid grinned at him. “I do sometimes.” she said. “Rarely, but sometimes. It doesn’t seem natural though.” She laughed.

Brad walked out into the bedroom. Ingrid stood up and checked her reflection in the mirror. It was hard to see, and she realized she didn’t have her contacts in and wasn’t wearing her glasses. She pulled her glasses off the counter and put them on. She was, as she suspected, a wreck. Her hair was sticking up all over and her make-up was smeared.
“I look like a supermodel, don’t I dear.” She said, then struck a pose next to the door.

Brad laughed. “Actually. Yes. A bit dishevelled, but still amazing.” he said.

She grinned at him, then walked over and gave him a kiss. “Thank you. You are very sweet.” she said, then took a brush to her hair. “Go downstairs and put on coffee, honey. Please.” she said.

“Ok.” he said, pulling on his pants. “On my way.”

She walked into the bathroom and washed her face, getting off the make-up she left on last night, then headed back into the bedroom to get on some clothes. She settled on a pair of fleece pants and a tee shirt, then went down to the kitchen.

Katrina and Mia were sitting at the kitchen table with Brad when she got down there. “Good morning.” she said, taking a seat. Brad had already poured her a cup of coffee. “How are you all this morning?”

Katrina smiled, but it looked painful. “My head is killing me. I think Mia was trying to induce alcohol poisoning on me last night.”

Mia laughed, then clutched her own head. “I think we all had a little too much last night.”

“I feel fine.” Brad said, smirking at them. If looks could kill, Bradley Worthington would have been dead on the spot. “And on that note...I should scoot. I need to go back to my dorm and grab my bag. Then I’m supposed to be at the parent’s house by two.” He stood up and kissed Ingrid. “Thanks for a great time, hon.”

“I’’ll walk you out.” She said.

“No need.” He said. “You have coffee with the girls. I know they are flying out today. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Ok, darling.” She said, smiling at him. “Call me later?”

“Sure thing. It was really nice meeting you both.” He said to Mia and Katrina. “Hope to see you again soon.”

They said their goodbyes and Brad was out the door.

Ingrid lit a cigarette and leaned back in her chair, smiling.

“Look at her. That girl’s in love.” Mia said, grinning.

“Yep.” Katrina said. “And we could hear all the love coming out of that room last night.”

Ingrid blushed. “Shit, we were that loud?”

Both girls laughed. “Sure where.” Mia said. “I thought you had a porn playing in there at first, then realized it was you two.”

Ingrid hid her face in her hands. “Sorry.” she said.

“Nothing to be sorry for. I wouldn’t kick him out of bed either.” Katrina said.

“Well...” Ingrid said, changing the subject. “We all need to get motivated. You guys have planes to catch.”

The girls finished their coffee then went about getting their stuff packed and cleaning up. Ingrid was sad to have to say goodbye. She hugged Katrina tight. “See you in a week, hon.” she said.

“Yes maam. I’ll see you at home. I’ll send you pictures from sunny California.” she said, then stuck out her tongue.

“Thanks Mia.” Ingrid said. “I’m so glad you could come.”

“It was great.” she said. “I’m going to be in LA for the next month, so I won’t see you before you head out to Berlin. So, I guess next time we see each other will be once I get there.”

“Yep. I’ll see you in Berlin in January. Have fun in LA LA land.” Ingrid said, then gave her a hug.

The girls walked out and loaded their bags in the rental car. Then, with a last wave, they drove off. Ingrid stood in the doorway for a minute, then turned and walked back into the house. She strolled through the living room, noting that it was a horrible mess and she would have to get the maid to come in early, since she had no intention of cleaning this up.

“Well, it will have to wait until after Christmas.” she said, then mounted the stairs up to her bedroom where she intended to get a few more hours of sleep before getting ready to head over to her Aunt and Uncle’s house for Christmas Eve.